Up-draft process of and muffle kiln for firing



July 17, 1928.

1,677,818 T. DOWNS UP-DRAFT PROCESS OF AND MUFFLE KI'LN FOR FIRING FiledJan. 25, 1927 2 Stgjeets-Sheet 1 July 17, 1928.

T. DOWNS [JP-DRAFT PROCESS OF AND MUFFLE KILN FOR FIRING Filed Jan. 25,1927 2 Sheets-Sheet the fire-boxes and side-walls to the center PatentedJuly 17 1928.

newssstarts PATENT orrice THOMASzDOWllTS, OF'SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY Apriazha fled taxi-nar 25, 192-2 Seflai its. 63,419

This inir'entioi is: an improvmefit iii updraft process of and iniifiiekilns for fh'iiig which may be controlled while in regress men-g c Inthe pres nt.- for-ms of down-draft ihnflle kilns, there is a t ndency t6sulphur the ware, even tinder the exercise (if the greatest skill andcare in the progress or firing thekfln, I

One' object of my' present invent i611 is to overcome this tendency, bycreating a more pure atmosphere within the). kiln, v

Another very important object of my iiiventi'on is to provide a kilnwhich has all of the advantages of the present kiln, end whicho'vercome'sthei I'iumerous disadvantages. v

An important feature of this invefitior'i' is the method ofk'i'ln dryingthe wmeb circ'lilating heated air upward ahotit the sides and throughthe center of the kilii and reg'hlating said circulation. i

A still further object is to provide a kiln that can be fired uniro miyat top midtermm, which is Very essential iii firing Barge pieces ofware, such as's'ahitary earthenware WlllGl'l is very suseep'tible to(luhti r'rg when unclaimed.-

Another object istojpro lidea kiln which can be placedand replaced in ashorter period of time than the present well-known type of cro n-draftinn-fire kiln;

The chief reasoa for creatiiig a'li up dra'ft niiifiie-k'iln', insteadofa' down-draft kiln, is to secure a more pure heat, whereas with theclown-draft kiln it is more apt to sulphur the glaze oh the ware. ,Whatis meant by a mnfile-k-fln is aseparate lifting within the body of theki-lri with space hetweeri' the body and theili'rlin'g I v Thtis,concerning, the kiln, have in mind to say v (1); The kiln isfl-roun'dand has a wireshap ct stack on top. V

('2) The kiln h"sf a doublecr'owh with a space between or draft andcooling, a'nd vent-holes in the upper crown and around the center stack,whichrans from the bottom of the kiln to the top of the upper crown.

(,3); There" are time running directly mm stac'k which dirt the sulphurand gas up ifito the eerie-shaped stack which creates the g'rea-terjjartof the draftand cooling.

(4) The (jester Stack is provided with a eta-napetone-o1 whichenablesthe operator to advance thebottom heat or check it. In this way,-the kiln ,c'ar'ibe fired evenly top hottoih, which is very essential infiring large pieces of ware, such as sanitary ware, which are verysusceptible to (l miting if under'fired, thus saving thousands ofdollars worth of ware. I I a (5) It is niiderstood that this kiln willbiirfi ceal, gas,- oil or any other fuel,

(6 Referring flirther to the tip-draft of this ihu'fie-kilfi, etiskeepsthe kiln free from bad atmosphere, such as in downdrzr'ftkilns', whicheausesztheglazetobetome poroiis or sulfihu'fd, givin it a poions orboiled fieet'.

,(7) The dam er may made with or without a hole the center; Thisc'e'liter hole allows passage enough to carry 0 E any sulphur and gaswitho'iit advancing too much bott'or'ri heat. 7

(8) The fire-'loc'n'res areeqiiipped with air- Verits, admittirigs'ulfieierit oxygen to create a ppre heat.

A central stack-is provided through the center of the kiln, whichextends upwardly from underground flues" radiating from thisce'ntralstack, which uhdergreiihd fines eX- t'encl to peripheralfire-boxes, which supply the heat thereto. Whehthe kiln is started inits heating operation, a (temper substantially closes the central stackwhich allows the heat to pass epwarcr from the fire-boxes aroirhd theliiiilig of the k'i-ln, which is spaced from the main, hotly thereof,ahd througha double crown, the ripper crown of which is provided with aplurality of openin s through which the heat passes into a cone-shapedstack, which serves to carry it off. This creates a circulation of' heataround the sides" and over the top of the kiln, but after it has been inop'era'tiofi for a period of time the" dam-per is changed so that thedraft through the central stack and through the lines located heneaththe kiln,

will overcome that of the peripheral litres and will tend to direct theheated curre'rit of air through the underground fines and central stack,which causes a more uniform distribution of heat over the bottom andsides of the kiln.

In the accompanying drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the main body of the kiln;

Fig. 2 is a partial horizontal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;and

Fig. 3 is a partial horizontal section taken on the line 33 otFig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, the cork or foundation for the kiln is indicated bythe numeral 1, upon which is supported the main body portion 2 thereof.A plurality of fire-boxes 3 are provided about the periphery of the bodyportion 2, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Any form of fuel may beused in these fire-boXes, such as oil, coal, etc. Asubstantiallypone-shaped stack 4 extends upwardly from the body portion2 of the kiln.

A lining 5 is spaced apart from the body portion 2 of the kiln by meansof piers 6. This lining 5 is seated upon the foundation 1, and is heldin spaced-apart relation from the body portion 2. Extending inwardlyfrom the lining 5 are a plurality of partitions 8, 9 and 10, which formunderground flues therebetween. A tile floor 7 is mounted upon thesepartitions within the lining 5. The partitions are spaced apart, asshown in Fig. 3 to provide the radiating flues over the base of the kilnbeneath the tile floor 7. At their outer ends these under ground finesextend to the bridge-walls 11 placed at the inner ends of the fire-boxes3, which bridge walls are spaced apart from the lining 5, as shown inFig. 1, so as to permit communication from the fire-boxes to theunderground flues.

Passage-ways 12 extend through the piers 6 and connect the verticallines 13, as clearly shown in F 2. A central stack 14 rests upon thepartitions 8 and floor 7 and extends upwardly, communicating at itslower end with the underground flues formed be tween the partitions 8, 9and 10.

The flues 13, which extend upwardly between the piers 6, communicate attheir upper ends witha space 15 formed between upper and lower crowns 16and 17, respectively, which are spaced apart to form this space 15. Theupper crown 16 is provided with a plurality of openings 18 therein, toallow the heat to pass from this space 15 into the cone-shaped stack 4,whence it is discharged into the atmosphere. A ventilating chimney 19extends upwardly from the lower crown 17 in spaced apart relation aroundthe central stack 14 to provide an open space therebetween, to allowsulphur (if any should seep in) to escape, so as to avoid injury to theglaze.

A damper control 20 is located at the top of the central stack 14 forcontrolling the 3 bottom heat, to advance or check the same. A smallopening 21 is formed in the center of the damper control 20 to carry offany sulphur fumes that might be present in the central stack 14. Thisdamper control 20 is supported by means of rods 22 suspended from oneend of a rock-arm 23, pivoted as I perature is obtained within the kilnto satisfactorily vitrify the ware. After the ware is placed within thekiln, the initial firing takes place. The damper control 20 is loweredover the end of the central stack 14, which substantially prevents anycirculation of heat beneath and through the center of the kiln. Instead,the circulation of heat is from the fire-boxes through the'flues' 13 onboth sides of the'piers 6 into the space 15 J between the upper andlower crowns 16 and 17. The heat passes from the space 15 through theopenings 18 in the upper crown v I 16 into the cone-shaped stack 4, fromwhere it is discharged into the atmosphere. This circulation of heatevenly distributes it around the sides and over the top of the kiln andmay be continued, as desired, after which the damper control 20 isopened, thus creating a circulation of heat through the undergroundfines and central stack 14, which over-balances the circulation throughthe lines 13 and. space 15 in the double crown. Thus, the heating airpasses from the fire-boxes 3 behind the bridge-walls 11 at the back ofthe fire-boxes, down behind the bridge-walls and between the latter andthe lining 5, to, and through the underground fiues between thepartitions 8, 9 and 10, to the center stack 14, as shown in Fig. 3. Theheat passes through the latter and into the cone-shaped stack 4, whenceit is discharged into the atmosphere.

This circulation of heat beneath the bottom and through the center ofthe kiln provides a uniform distribution of heat over the entire area ofthe kiln, thus preventing any dunting of the ware, until the heat hasbecome intense enough to vitrity the ware.

I claim: 1. The method o-f'kiln drying ware in a kiln includingcirculating air upward about the sides and over the crown of the kiln,circulating air beneath the kiln and upward therethrough, and regulatingand controlling the relative circulations about and through the kiln.

2. The method of kiln drying ware in mufile kiln including circulatingair upward about the sides and over the crown of the kiln, circulatingair beneath the floor of the kiln and upward through a central stack,and regulating and controlling the relative circulations about the sideand through the central stack.

3. An updraft muflie kiln having a main body portion, a lining spacedapart from the body portion to provide circulating space therebetweenfor causing an upward circulation of heat about the lining, a stack forcausing an upward circulation of heat from beneath the lining, and mean;for regulating and controlling the V circulation of heat through thestack and about the lining.

4. An updraft muflle kiln having a main body portion, a lining spacedapart from the body portion to provide circulation space therebetweenfor causing an upwardcirculation of heat about the lining, a stack forcausing an upward circulation of heat from beneath the kiln, and meansfor regulating and controlling the circulation of heat about the liningby regulating the circulation of heat through the stack.

5. An updraft muflle kiln having a main body portion, a lining spacedapart from the body portion to provide heat circulating spacetherebetween, a double crown communicating with said heat circulatingspace, and having an outlet, a floor having radial fiues arrangedtherebeneath, a central stack extending upwardly from the floor throughthe kiln, a source of heat communicating with the radial flues, centralstack, and heatv circulating space about the lining for causing anupward circulation of heat about the lining and through the stack, andmeans for regulating and controlling the relative circulation of heatabout the lining and through the central stack.

6. A muflie kiln havin a main body portion, a lining spaced apart fromthe body portion to provide heat circulating space therebetween, a floorhaving flues arranged therebeneath, a fire-box arranged at the peripheryof the body portion, and a bridge wall arranged at the inner end of thefirebox in spaced apart relation from the lining to form a passagewaybetween the fire-box to communicate with flues beneath the floor.

7. A mufiie kiln having a lining, a double crown arranged thereabove, acentral heat circulating stack extending upwardly through the doublecrown, and a chimney connected with the lower crown and spaced aroundthe central stack communicating with the interior of the lining.

8. A muffle kiln having a cone shaped stack at the top, a central stack,a doublearched crown, a chimney spaced around the central stack, and ofless height than said stack, andmeans operating in connection with theupper end of the central stack for regulating and controlling thecirculation of heat through the stack and crown.

9. A kiln of the character described including a base, a body portionextending upwardly from the base, a cone-shaped stack mounted upon thebody portion, a lining arranged in spaced-apart relation from the bodyportion, forming flues therebetween, a plurality of peripheralfire-boxes arranged about the body portion of the kiln and communicatingwith said lines, a floor arranged in spaced-apart relation above thebase, a plurality of partitions formed between the floor and base toprovide a plurality of underground flues therebetween, a central stackextending upwardly from the floor and communicating with saidunderground fiues, a plurality of bridge-walls arranged at the innerends of the fire-boxes in spaced-apart relation from the lining to formpassageways between the fire-boxes and the underground 7 flues, upperand lower crowns formed in spaced-apart relation and forming acombustion chamber, said upper crown having openings formed therein forthe escape of the products of combustion into the cone-shaped stack, adamper-control in position to be seated over the top of the centralstack to substantially close the same,

said damper control having an opening therein for the escape of anysulphur fumes that might be present in the central stack.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

THOMAS DOWNS.

